Page 113 of Soft Rebound

“Only you would pluck a half-mute, terrified accountant from a Qpik bathroom and befriend them.”

“I’ve got a good nose for good people,” she says. “And you’re good people.”

I legit tear up now. “Come here,” I say, and Roxie comes closer so I can hug her. “One day, there will be a guy who’ll knock your socks off.”

“But I like keeping my socks on,” Roxie jokes. I squeeze her tight before I let her go.

?Chapter Twenty-Two

Joe

I give my therapist, Simone, a synopsis of what Lance told me. Her forehead furrows as she listens intently.

“That must’ve been quite a shock,” she says. “Hearing that Kim is having a child with someone else.”

“I felt physical pain,” I say. “It was almost unbearable. I felt so ... betrayed. If Kim had cheated on me, I don’t think it would have hurt worse.”

“Well, I know that children are very important to you. And Kim said she didn’t want them, period. That sounded like an irreconcilable difference. An incompatibility.”

I nod. “But then it turned out it wasn’t an incompatibility. She just didn’t want them with me. It changes everything for me, Simone. Everything I’ve thought about our relationship. About myself. I felt so completely worthless... It broke me all over again.”

“Joe, let me stop you there for a moment,” she says gently. “Tell me about Liz.”

“What about her?”

“Well, you’ve been together for a few months now and things seem to be going well. So I wonder how you feel about her?”

“I ... I like her a lot.”

“More than Kim?”

I nod. “Much more. I love everything about her. The sex, our connection is so much deeper. We like each other’s friends. It’s easy to have fun together. She’s a great cook, too. It’s all pretty great, honestly.”

“And does she want kids?”

The question takes me by surprise. “I don’t actually know,” I say. “I’m pretty sure she does. Like, she might’ve mentioned it? Or maybe I’m imagining it. But I think she does.”

Simone smiles. “Well, you should probably ask her. But I will remind you that you said you loved everything about her. Do you love her?”

I raise my eyes and meet Simone’s. “I don’t know.”

“It’s been nearly a year since you met her. You do know if you love her or not.”

I cast my eyes down on my hands. My fingers are interlaced between my knees.

“I know the answer, Joe. I see how your face looks when you talk about her. But I want you to know it, too.”

I sigh and nod.

“Good. I take it she doesn’t know how you feel?”

“No,” I say. “We’ve never ... I don’t want to spook her, honestly.”

“It will only spook her if she doesn’t feel the same.”

I feel the chilling grip of fear. “What if she doesn’t?”

“You’d know by now. The connection you said you feel? That cannot be faked.”